Sign



Patented July 11, 1939 UNiTE-D STATES SIGN J os Trojan,

Chicago, Ill.,

assignor fo Owen Housholder and David 0. Cohen, a co-partnership doing business as Crystal Manufacturing b., Chicago, Ill.

Application January 11, 1939, Serial No. 250,264

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of signs, and has reference more particularly although not exclusively to illuminated signs that serve to attractively display advertisements and other mat ter at night as well as during daylight hours. A common form of modern. illuminated advertising employs the well known neon tubes in whole or in part, and one object of this invention has been to provide a very simple and inexpensive illuminated sign that will closely simulate the luminescent neon tube effect, without requiring the use of neon gas and tubes.

Illuminated advertising is also more effective to arrest the attention of onlookers when the illumination is in. a variety of" harmonious colors, instead of in a single color; and another object of this invention has been to provide an improved sign for displaying advertising or other matter that will more readily attract attention by dis playing a plurality of harmonious color effects.

Again, it is a quite common practice among advertisers and other users of illuminated signs to include in the display matter an illuminated clock for showing the time, the clock having a translucent face illuminated from the rear so that the positions of the hands are readily readable at night. Sometimes advertising matter is printed or painted on the face of the clock, and sometimes it is placed above, below, or around the clock. In the embodiment of this invention herein presented, the sign takes the form of an illuminated clock, which is a sign in a broad sense of that term; but I desire it to be understood that, except to the extent indicated in specific claims. the invention is not limited to a sign embodied in or associated with a time-displaying device, nor is it limited to a sign displaying advertising matter only, since it may advantageously be employed to display in an attractive manner useful information of various sorts and kinds. Furthermore, it may be embodied solely in a clock or other instrument for displaying useful information, such as a thermometer or hygrometer of the dial and pointer type, without any reference to advertising display.

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in Which 1 Fig. 1 is a front or face View of the illuminated sign.

Fig. 2 is a diametric sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, on the same scale as Fig. 1.

In the drawing Ill designates an annular opaque rim member, preferably of sheet metal and of the tapered form shown in Fig. 2, formed with curled beads H and I2 on its front and rear edges, respectively. It designates an opaque back plate, also preferably of sheet metal, that is attached to and overlies the rear larger diameter side of the rim It, the attaching means shown consisting of screws [4 passed through the back plate and engaged with tapped holes in angle brackets l5 that are spot welded or otherwise secured to the inner surface of the rear portion of the rim. By means of spacing sleeves It on the screws Hi the backplate is spaced a short distance from the rear bead i2 of the rim, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, thus forming a narrow annular opening for the passage of light rays, as later described.

Integral withrthe back plate i3 is a peripheral annular extension or flange it that projects beyond the rear edge E2 of the rim. This flange, as shown in Fig. 2, is bent forwardly on a curved line so that it presents a transversely concave front face; and'to this front face is applied a smooth dull coating ll of colored paint, lacquer or other colored material; a red coating being indicated in, Figs. 1 and 2, but, of course, any desired color may be used.

In the front smaller diameter side of the rim I0 is mounted a translucent disc iii of glass, celluloid, or any other more or less translucent material designed to carry sign indicia, the pe riphery of this disc being clamped between the front bead H and an annular washer is held in place by clips 20.

Mounted on angle brackets 2i spot welded: or otherwise secured to the inner side of the back plate l3 are the sockets 22 of electric lamp bulbs 23, these lamps being mounted radially, with their bulbs 23 disposed closely adjacent to the rear edge of the rim. Through a hole 2 i (Fig. 3) in the back plate extends an electric cable 25 carrying wires leading to the several lamps in parallel and through a switch 26 operated by a pull cord or chain 21.

The device as thus far described is complete as an advertising or information dispensing means, it being obvious that advertising or other sign matter printed, painted or otherwise applied to the translucent disc [3 Will show up strongly when the lamps are lighted. Also, light rays from the lamps will pass through the annular passageway between the rear edge of the rim and the back plate and, impinging on the colored sur face of the flange, will be deflected forwardly, thus strongly lighting up the colored surface and nel guides 31.

giving it the effect to the eye of an observer of an isolated circular band of colored light closely simulating the appearance of an illuminated ring-shaped neon tube, which enhances the appearance of the sign and increases its power of attracting attention.

In its preferred embodiment the invention also includes a means for displaying the time, such as an illuminated clock. For this purpose a housing 28 containing a clock train (preferably electrically operated) is mounted on radial arms 29 attached to the back plate l3. The arbors carrying the clock hands or pointers extend through a central hole 30 in the disc l8, which disc then becomes a clock face and is supplied with hour division indicia such as 3|; and on the arbors are mounted the hour, minute and second hands or pointers 32, 33 and 34. The supply cable carries a wire extending through the switch 26 to the clock train, and in parallel with the leads to the lamps. This parallel arrangement of the electrically operated devices has the advantage that if any one of them fails for any reason, the others remain operative.

The opaque rim I is preferably of the tapered form shown, its diameter increasing from. front to rear. The advantage of this form of rim is that it sharply divides or separates the light rays reflected from the colored surface of the back plate flange from the light rays passing through the translucent front plate, so that the circle of reflected rays stands out distinctly like a corona completely separated from the central light issuing from the translucent front plate.

For the purpose of obtaining easy access to the interior of the sign wtihout having to disassemble it, the back plate I3 is formed with a central hand hole 35 that is closed and opened by a removable cover plate 36 slidably mounted in chan- This facilitates the mounting, adjusting and replacing of the internal parts when necessary.

Modifications and changes in the details of structure and arrangement may be made within the scope and coverage of the claims.

I claim:

1. A luminous sign of the class described, comprising an annular opaque rim, a back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a colored front surface, a front plate covering the front side of said rim and bearing sign indicia, and a lamp mounted in said rim for illuminating said flange by light rays passing between said back plate and rear edge of the rim and impinging on said flange.

2. A luminous sign of the class described, com.- prising an annular opaque rim, a back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a colored front surface, a translucent plate mounted in the front side of said rim and bearing sign indicia, and a lamp mounted in said rim for illuminating said flange and translucent plate.

3. A luminous sign of the class described, comprising an annular opaque rim, a back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a transversely concave colored front surface, a translucent plate mounted in the front side of said rim and bearing sign indicia, and a lamp mounted in said rim for illuminating said flange and translucent plate.

4. A luminous sign of the class described, comprising an annular opaque rim, a back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a transversely concave front surface colored to simulate, when lighted, a neon tube effect, a translucent plate mounted in the front side of said rim and a bearing sign indicia, and a group of radially disposed electric lamps mounted on said back plate with their bulbs adjacent to the rear edge of said rim.

5. A luminous clock of the character described, comprising an annular opaque rim, a back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a colored front surface, a translucent dial disc mounted in the front side of said rim, a lamp mounted in said rim for illuminating said flange and disc, and a clock mounted in said rim with its arbors projecting centrally through said dial disc and carrying hands overlying the front of said dial disc.

6. A luminous clock of the character described, comprising an annular opaque rim, a back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a transversely concave colored front surface, a translucent dial disc mounted in the front side of said rim, a circular group of electric lamps mounted on said back plate, and a clock mounted on said back plate within said rim with its arbors projecting centrally through said dial disc and carrying hands overlying the front of said dial disc.

7 A luminous sign of the class described, comprising an annular tapered opaque rim of increasing diameter from front to rear, an opaque back plate attached to and overlying the rear side of said rim and having a forwardly directed peripheral flange projecting beyond and spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of said rim, said flange having a transversely concave colored front surface, a translucent plate mounted in the front side of said rim and bearing sign indicia, and a lamp mounted in said rim for illuminating said flange and translucent plate; said opaque tapered rim serving to sharply separate the light rays reflected from said colored flange from the light rays passing through said translucent front plate.

JOSE TROJAN. 

